Page 124 of The ARC Unit: Breach

Raven closed the interview summary and opened a list of the two addresses we had not known about yesterday. “German authorities are checking the first one quietly. The second is outside Strasbourg and belongs on the French side of the border, so that request is moving slower.”

Wolf pointed toward the local address. “No approach until we know whether it’s active.”

“Already told them,” Raven said.

“Varga stays in custody.”

“He’s not going anywhere.”

“Good.”

The conversation moved into the practical work of rebuilding the transfer routes, and for the next hour Jackal remained on the couch pretending he was not listening while listening to everything. Bear made him eat before giving him medication. Viper moved the low table closer so Jackal could reach his water without leaning forward, then acted as though he had only moved it because it was in his way. Hawk noticed every time Jackal shifted too quickly and said nothing unless the movement made his face tighten.

The attention would have driven me insane, but Jackal tolerated it with only moderate profanity, which told me he felt worse than he wanted anyone to know.

Around 3:30 in the afternoon, he fell asleep in the middle of Raven explaining the Strasbourg property. Nobody commented when his head tipped toward the back of the couch and stayed there. Bear lowered the volume on the kitchen radio while Viper moved Jackal’s phone off his chest before it could slide to the floor. Wolf kept the briefing going in a lower voice.

I watched them adjust around him without discussing it. ARC had done the same thing when Bear cooked breakfast or Raven disappeared into a screen for hours. Somebody filled whatever space another person could not carry that day and nobody treated the help like a favor that needed repayment.

It was probably the closest thing this building had to a family right now.

◆

Jackal came to about an hour later, furious that nobody had woken him sooner.

“I was unconscious in a room full of classified material.”

Raven did not look away from his monitor. “You were asleep.”

“Same vulnerability profile.”

“We considered selling your passwords.”

Jackal pushed himself upright, moving slowly enough that the joke could not hide the effort. “You don’t know my passwords.”

“I know all your passwords.”

“That’s invasive.”

“You used the same one on three streaming accounts.”

Jackal stared at him. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“I didn’t say what it was.”

Bear came around the couch and handed Jackal another glass of water. “Medication.”

Jackal looked at the pills in Bear’s palm. “You enjoy this too much.”

“Take them.”

“Bossy.”

“Jackal.”

He took the pills.

Wolf had disappeared into his office above the operations floor sometime during the afternoon, the door shut while the rest of us worked below. When he finally came back down the stairs, Jackal was awake enough to be irritating again and had convinced Hawk to bring his MP7 case from the equipment room so he could inspect the weapon without standing up. Bear saw it from the kitchen.